TDI: Border Battle
by islander80
Summary: All 22 campers return to the island, but the rules and possibly a relationship have changed. Can they unite with 2 new additions against an enemy more evil and annoying than Heather? Rated T for safety's sake.
1. Prologue Loose Leaf Letters

In the last, dear, dying days of late Canadian summer, 23 letters wound their ways across the country. All carried the same "Muskoka, Ontario" postmark. Their destinations were as varied as the people who would receive them. The big cities, Toronto, Hamilton, Calgary. The small towns, Flin Flon, Hay River, Kindersley. A juvenile detention facility near Regina. A CIT dormitory just outside of Hull, Quebec. A surf shop just off the beach in Vancouver. A potato farm on Prince Edward Island.

21 of the people expected the letters. 2 did not.

The letter was a simple form, the same in every case, asking the recipient to respond immediately. It also contained a postage paid envelope addressed to Chris MacLean, Camp Wawanakwa, Ontario.

All 23 responded within a week.


	2. Chapter 1 PEI to TDI

Total Drama Island is owned by Fresh TV.

It was 1 AM on Thursday morning when the bus rolled into Muskoka. The squeal of the air brakes punctured the chilly October stillness. Only one passenger got off the bus at its designated stop. He grabbed his bag from the luggage compartment underneath and watched as the red lights faded into the darkness.

Ed was a long way from home. He lived on Prince Edward Island, on a little farm near Souris on Prince Edward Island, just a block away from Dominion Street. He stretched after the 15-hour bus ride. He never could sleep on one of those things.

In a way, this was the end of a second long journey, but this one was much more difficult. After two years in and out of hospitals all over eastern Canada getting radiation therapy, the lymphoma was in remission. As soon as he got a clean bill of health, Ed sent the letter back to Chris.

Ed stifled a yawn as he left the small bus station. How had they found about him? He had never even heard of "Total Drama Island" before the letter arrived. True, he had been a decent athlete before getting sick, good enough to represent Canada in baseball at the Junior Pan Am Games in Ottawa when he was 16, but that was three years ago. Ed smiled to himself as he remembered the warm feeling of the crowd singing along with the anthem, rocking the stadium with cheers after they won the bronze metal. It was the best feeling he had ever had. That feeling had sustained him through all of the dark times of the last two long years.

That was the whole reason he came here. He had read and reread the letter a hundred times. "You have been selected by the team captain, Owen, to represent Canada..." That was all Ed needed to see. A chance to wear the maple leaf again was just too good to pass up.

Ed walked through the small town. The nice woman at the bus station told him where the contestants were supposed to meet. He walked toward the dock area. As he got close to the lakeshore, he saw a large white tent. The inside of the tent was dark enough that Ed couldn't see inside, but the sign in front of it read, "WELCOME TO TOTAL DRAMA ISLAND!"

Ed saw a man sitting at a table in front of the tent. He had his head on the table and looked to be asleep. Ed didn't want to wake him, but he had no other choice. He nudged the man gently.

"Angelina, Jen, Jessica, there's enough of Chris MacLean to go around.", he said dreamily.

Ed gave him another nudge.

"Huh? What's going on?" Chris took a moment to gather himself. "Dude, that's brutal! You had to show up right when the dream was getting to the good part!"

"Sorry, sir."

"You must be Ed. Welcome to Total Drama Island! You are seriously overdressed, though. You trying to impress the ladies or something?"

Ed looked down at himself. He was wearing the only suit he owned, with one the little red maple leaf pin on the lapel. It hung loose on him. He'd lost a little weight, after all.

"I assumed there would be some kind of dress code, sir. And are there girls on our team?" Ed sounded genuinely confused.

"First, don't call me sir. Chris is fine. Second, yes, there will be girls." Turning away from Ed, Chris shouted to no one in particular, "Someone get this guy a DVD of season one, please! He's killing my Q rating!"

Chris continued, "You really have no idea about all of this, do you?"

"No, Chris, I don't."

"You never saw any of this on television, read anything online, in a newspaper, anything?"

Ed answered honestly, "No, Chris. I was in the hospital for a while last summer, so I must have missed it."

"I need to fire my agent. Seriously, nothing?"

Ed shook his head and shrugged.

"Well, Ed, we're going to have a lot of fun here. Everyone who was here last year is coming back so you know everyone enjoyed themselves. We also have two new contestants. You happen to be the first one to arrive, so enjoy."

With that, a generator started up. Lights went on in the tent, revealing a full lounge and gourmet buffet. Ed took a steak, baked potato and slice of apple pie and found a comfortable spot on a couch to relax. After finishing his meal, Ed stretched out of the couch and fell into the first truly restful sleep he'd had in two years.

After all, it had been a long journey.


	3. Chapter 2 Drama before The Island

Total Drama Island is owned by Fresh TV.

Ed woke with a start. He heard Chris talking to someone on a cell phone, but couldn't make out what was being said. He could see the sunlight through the open flap of the tent and decided to stretch his legs.

He saw 6 teenagers. "Kids.", he thought to himself, even though they looked to be just younger than he was. The group came toward the tent. Chris seemed to know all of them because he called out their names as he checked them off of his list.

"DJ! Leshawna! Trent! Gwen! Lindsay! Heather! Welcome back!" Chris sounded rather cheerful this morning, Ed thought.

Leshawna had her cell phone to her ear as she entered the tent. "Yeah, Bridgette. We just got here. Where are you , girl?" She took a seat on one of the other couches. DJ followed her into the tent. He went straight to the buffet. Trent and Gwen entered holding hands. 

"Hey guys, this is catered food, not what we had on the island last summer!" The instant DJ said this, Heather raced into the tent, flying past Trent and Gwen and knocking Lindsay down. Trent quickly went to help Lindsay up.

"And it begins again.", Gwen said with a frustrated tone.

Heather answered quickly, "Twenty hours on a bus with you losers. This makes up for it." She was piling scrambled eggs onto a plate.

Leshawna ended her cell phone conversation. "Lindsay, you OK? SOMEBODY needs to apologize to you right now."

"I know, right?", the blonde responded.

"Lindsay, I'm sorry you couldn't move fast enough to get out of my way. There, happy now?" Heather took her plate and retreated to the couch opposite the one Ed was sitting on.

Trent calmed the situation down. "You know how she is. Don't let her bother you." 

Gwen smiled at him. "You want to grab some breakfast, Trent?"

"Sounds like a date." Gwen's face blushed as Trent escorted her to the buffet line. Leshawna and Lindsay followed them. Along with DJ, they all found a table to sit together. 

Trent noticed him first. The new guy, the one with the suit. "Hey, man! You want to join us? We have an extra seat here."

Ed walked over to the group. Trent made the introductions before they sat back down.

"So, Ed, where are you from?", Trent asked.

"Prince Edward Island."

"They named the island after you?" Lindsay asked.

Ed looked sorely confused. Gwen noticed this. "Welcome to the club."

"No, Lindsay." Ed replied finally. "Where are you guys and girls from?" he inquired.

"I'm from Jamaica, but my parents moved to Hamilton was I was a baby." DJ answered.

"And the rest of us, and Heather, are from Toronto. The love birds here," pointing to Trent and Gwen, " only live a mile and a half apart.", Leshawna added.

Trent chuckled. "Yeah, and if it wasn't for this show, I'd have missed out on the best thing that ever happened to me.". He put his hand on Gwen's shoulder.

"What was that?" Lindsay asked again. Nobody answered.

DJ suddenly said, "Hey, isn't Owen from Toronto, too?"

"You're right, DJ!" Gwen exclaimed. "Wonder if he's coming back?"

Ed perked up at the mention of Owen's name. "He should be. My letter said he picked me to be here. Chris said everyone from last year is coming back."

Cell phones immediately were activated around the table. "What else did Chris tell you?", Gwen asked suspiciously.

"Nothing."

"Did you say that OWEN picked you to be here?"

"Yes, Gwen."

The news went out to the other buses winding their way through Canada. Ed couldn't have known this at the time, but Owen was one of three campers who didn't stay in touch with the others after the show ended. Duncan had a valid excuse; he had three months added to his juvenile sentence for escape. The third camper was Courtney.

Within two hours another group arrived. 4 came in this time. Chris again announced their arrival.

"Harold! Eva! Courtney! And our Internet contest winner, Jacqueline! Welcome to Total Drama Island!"

Jacqueline bounded into the tent. At first sight of Trent, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love your music!", she exclaimed with a Quebecois accent. Leshawna had to restrain Gwen, who was almost in tears. Trent was trying to free himself from his predicament. As soon as Jacqueline released him, he ran to Gwen's side.

"Gwen, I'm so sorry! I've never seen her before in my life! Please forgive me!"

Heather picked this time to taunt Gwen. "Trouble in paradise? Every time Gwen turns around, you're kissing another girl, Trent. You're such a player! That's why I broke up with you."

Gwen raced out of the tent with Trent in hot pursuit. In the commotion, Courtney slipped unnoticed to the back of the tent and sat quietly by herself. 

Trent finally caught Gwen halfway down the dock. "Please. Stop. Out. Of Breath.", he gasped.

"From running after me or kissing her?"

Trent took a deep breath. "The run. I must be out of shape." It was a lame joke and he knew it. He just wanted her to smile.

It didn't work. Trent saw the tears beginning to roll down her cheek. 

"Gwen, I swear to you. I have never seen her before. Please believe me."

"I've been through this before, Trent."

"I know. I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do. How can I make this up to you? I don't want to lose you again."

Gwen wiped the tears away. She turned to look out at the lake and the island just at the horizon. "I believe you." she said after a long pause. She turned back to him.

Trent hugged her. "Thank you. I promise I will never hurt you again." 

He kissed her.

After a moment, Gwen asked, "Best kiss you've had today?"

"Best kiss I've EVER had."

They walked back to the tent holding hands.

The final bus pulled in just after they returned. 

"Ezekiel! Izzy! Duncan! Justin! Bridgette! Katie! Sadie! Beth! Geoff! Cody! Tyler! Noah! Welcome to Total Drama Island!". Chris again performed the announcing duties.

Duncan's first question after getting off the bus- "Is Princess here?"

Courtney winced. She knew she had to do it now. "I'm here Duncan, and I'd like to talk to you alone, please."

"Princess needs some alone time? Yeah, I think I can do that.", he said smugly.

"Never mind, Duncan, it's not like that. I saw what you did after I left the island. I watched the reruns."

"Yeah, I did pretty good. I'm going to win this time."

"You winked at Lindsay. Don't deny it. The whole country saw you do it, several times."

"What?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you wink at Lindsay?" Courtney was getting more upset as the conversation went on. Everyone else quietly began to slip out of the tent. Gwen and Leshawna each grabbed one of Heather's arms to forcefully convince her to leave. 

"I did it because I was playing the game. Just trying to get in her head." Duncan wasn't prepared for what came next.

"I kissed you, Duncan. You were in my heart! Or was I just a game to you, too?" Her bottom lip was quivering as if she was going to cry.

Duncan could feel his heart breaking. "Princ- _Courtney- I- uh…", he stammered._

_She cut him off. "Duncan, I've cried myself to sleep over you every night for three months. I can't let you hurt me anymore."_

_Duncan stepped back as if she had punched him. It would have been less painful. Then, faintly, as if from a million miles away, he heard her voice again._

"_There's someone else, Duncan. It's over between us. That is, if you were ever serious about US to begin with."_

_With that parting shot, Courtney walked past him on her way out of the tent, leaving Duncan alone to pick up the thousand pieces of his heart._


	4. Chapter 3 October Surprise

Total Drama Island is owned by Fresh TV.

Courtney was greeted with total silence as she exited the tent. No one quite believed what they had just heard. The atmosphere of a fun reunion of friends was gone, replaced with a feeling of shock. The 24 campers broke off into groups. Some went to check on Duncan, who had not moved from where he stood inside the tent. Most just milled around the dock aimlessly.

The boat arrived as scheduled. Packing 24 contestants plus their baggage plus Chris onto a small fishing boat was difficult, but it was done quickly. Everyone wanted to get away from the dock.

The boat ride was miserable. The boat's engines wheezed under the strain and the hull creaked ominously. Very little was said between the campers.

Even seeing the island again was no comfort for those returning. The green island of their memories had died, like summer love. The leaves had turned a dull brown and were beginning to fall.

The boat mercifully docked. The demoralized campers quickly exited.

Owen and Chef Hatchet were there to greet them. Owen was happy to see his friends. "Great balls of fire! This is going to be awesome!" Instead of his blue Maple Leaf jersey, Owen now wore a jersey with a red leaf on the front and his name and number (Owen 1) on back. His jersey also had a large "C" over his heart.

Izzy ran to Owen and hugged him. It was really more of a tackle than a hug, but Owen didn't mind.

"You never called me! I thought aliens might have sucked out your brains through your nose with a bendy straw or replaced you with a pod person!" Izzy rambled.

"Good to see you again, too, Izzy!" Owen said weakly.

"How long have you been here, Owen?" Bridgette asked.

"About a week now, Bridgette. I missed all of you so much! This is going to be just like old times! Except we have new campers here. Jacqueline, congrats on winning the contest. Your video was amazing! And Ed, man, it's so good to finally meet you." He actually picked Ed up in a bear hug at this point. "Thanks for coming! Everything OK with the issue you had?"

"Sure, Skip. I'm ready to go. Thanks for the opportunity."

"No problem. I'm glad we found you." Owen released Ed. "If you're all ready, let's get to camp before it gets dark. The darkness is not good." he finished ominously.

They had only walked a short distance. It was Noah who noticed it first, and even he had to look twice.

"What is THAT doing HERE?" He pointed to the top of a flagpole that no one remembered being there. Flying from the pole was the Star-Spangled Banner.

Owen smiled. "You'll find out soon enough."

They walked to the cabins they had occupied as Bass and Gophers. Some things had been left behind, the odd skull carved into the wooden buildings, mingled with the crudely carved initials "C+D" with a valentine heart around them. A new building had popped up on the island and a small ball field had been placed near the lake.

"Welcome home.", Gwen said sarcastically.

A shrill female voice called out. "About time you Canucks got here! Was the dog sled late?"

"Who is that?" Lashawna asked.

"Kristen Law. The executive producer of Total Drama Nation, our wonderful American counter-part. And my co-host this year." Chris responded.

Kristen approached them quickly. "Everyone here? Good. Let's get started. Everyone go to the campfire. NOW! GO!"

"She is not a nice lady. Gosh!" Harold exclaimed.

Chris and Owen led their group to the area where they had staged the Elimination Ceremonies They all took seats on the wooden stumps around the roaring fire. Everyone still had their baggage with them. Kristen stood in front of them

"Chris, come on up here."

Chris winced, but quickly joined her.

"Here's the deal. Your show is popular in the States. My network wants to do its own version, and we want all of you to be a part of it.", Kristen began. "I've selected 24 of the best teenaged candidates from all over the United States. You'll compete against them.

Chris added, "You'll be Team Canada. Everyone together. And no one gets sent home. You're in it until the end this time. Unless someone gets hurt."

Kristen continued. "There'll be 13 events. First team to win seven events wins. The first event will be next week, on your Thanksgiving weekend, in the U.S. We'll alternate countries. The team captains will pick the events and locations. We've already picked event one."

"Who's our captain?" Geoff inquired.

"Owen. He is the winner of Total Drama Island, after all."

"What's in it for us?" Heather asked.

The curtain behind the stage lifted to reveal a large pile of cash.

"How about 2.4 million dollars?" Kristen said smugly. "American currency, of course."

"That's…"

"100,000 for each member of the winning team."

Kristen smiled at the group. "Now, there are a couple of problems. First, you'll have to keep up on your schoolwork. You're all still in high school, right. No dropouts?"

Chris responded, "One graduate."

"Second, because you'll be traveling across the border for some events, you'll need to sign new release forms. Finally, you'll all have to live on the island, just like last year. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy, but there it is."

Duncan spoke up. "If we don't sign those forms, we can go home, right?"

Kristen answered, "Yes. You can leave now. You're all replaceable. Frankly, you're here to get my team ratings so they can launch their own acting careers. If this is the best Canada has to offer, you really have no chance of winning, anyway, so I'll give you the option of not being embarrassed on TV in two countries. You can walk away now."

Owen and Ed walked to the stage together and signed the release form. "At least some of you have guts."

Kristen slighted them.

The others were still not sure about this. It wasn't what they were expecting, and to be blindsided by this was a lot to process, especially with everything else that had gone on. Duncan looked around and said, "No thanks. I've already been embarrassed enough." He took one last long look at his princess- and she was still his princess, in spite of everything else. He knew it was probably the last time he'd ever see her. He took a deep breath to compose himself and then started to walk away. The rest of the group got up and followed him.

"You're all spineless losers! But I guess if I was a guy on this island, I'd leave, too, after I got a look at these girls! Please drop them off at whatever kennel you found them at when you leave! Or just leave them in the woods! Wolves wouldn't come near them unless you put a pork chop around their necks! You grow 'em fat, ugly and stupid up here! That one in the green pants is the ugliest person I have ever seen!" Kristen called after them.

That was a reference to Courtney.

That stopped Duncan dead in his tracks.

The rest of the guys stopped, too. Had she really said those things about Courtney? And Bridgette? And Gwen? And Izzy? And Heather? And Lindsay? And Lashawna? And Beth? And Katie? And Sadie? And Eva? And the new girl?

Ed and Owen looked at each other in slack-jawed amazement.

"Take it back.", Duncan muttered.

"Make me.", Kristen challenged.

"Apologize to Prin-Courtney now!", Duncan demanded.

"Ooo, the green haired thug is mad at me. I'm so scared!" Kristen sounded in mock terror. "I am sorry for one thing. Courtney isn't the ugliest person I've seen. She's the ugliest person ANYONE'S ever seen." She laughed mockingly.

Duncan took another look at Courtney. She looked so humiliated and hurt. She looked alone.

Duncan started back. The others followed. Heather rolled her eyes. "She's only saying that to get us to make fools of ourselves. Can't you see? These guys are idiots!"

"Yeah, but they're OUR idiots." Bridgette answered.

After all 24 campers signed the necessary forms, Chris told his crew to turn on the cameras in the confessional booth. Everyone lined up for the chance to vent.

Gwen- "What Kristen said about us? I've been called worse. OK, so the new girl kissed Trent. So she's blonde, and has a French-Canadian accent, and dresses and looks like a supermodel. I have nothing to worry about, right? Right?"

Trent- "I'm normally a laid-back kind of guy, but you just don't say those things about the girl I love. It's not cool. I've been through a lot with Gwen and she gave me another chance after I screwed up. I'd do anything for her."

Duncan- "Nobody says or does anything to hurt Princess, ever! If you're watching this, Courtney's new boyfriend, if you ever hurt her, I will find you. That's not a threat. That's a promise. I can't believe I lost her over something so stupid."

Lashawna- "No, she didn't! That skinny white American chick shouldn't have messed with me. It's on!"

Lindsay- "It's so nice to be back here! That mean lady said some awful things about us. Almost as bad as what Heather did to me."

Eva- "I'm not mad at surfer girl anymore. All of my anger is focused on one person. That dye job Kristen.

You don't poke a bear with a stick. You don't wave a red cape in front of a bull. She'll pay!"

Courtney- "I've never been called such terrible things in my life! At least I can count on my friends to stick up for me. Even Duncan. He was like my knight in shining armor. But I don't have feelings for him anymore! It's over!"

Justin- "That lady Kristen isn't so bad. But her wardrobe? Really? Who wears that anymore? She needs my help."

Katie- "She hurt Sadie's feelings! That's not right."

Sadie- "She hurt Katie's feelings! That's not right."

Bridgette- "I'd say it was nice to be back, but with everything that's happened, I just don't know. At least we're all together this time. I really hope we can build bridges. Nice to see Geoff again, too."

Ezekiel- "My parents would kill me if I didn't help out these females. It's my job as a guy, eh?"

Izzy- "I've played with wolves before. They really don't like pork chops. I think they have residual guilt over the whole "Three Pigs" incident."

Beth- "I can't believe they found someone worse than Heather! I didn't think it was possible!"

Geoff- "Bridgette is not a dog! She's more of a fox, dude. I mean, not that she's furry or anything, but she's just smoking hot."

Cody- "Yeah, my girl Gwen hooked up with Trent, but that doesn't mean I stopped caring. I'll always be there for her."

Noah- "Ooo, another competition? I hope we can use our brains this time. I still have the edge there. The things that were said about the girls? Come on, I'm not going to known as the only guy who didn't stand up for them. It would look bad."

Tyler- "Back to win this time! And now, I'm extra motivated, and when a great athlete is motivated, who knows what they can do?"

Harold- "She's louder than Lashawna! Gosh! But it is awesome to see my lady again. I love her eyes! That woman is an idiot for saying those things!"

DJ- "That lady is nuts, man! These girls are really nice people and no one should be called those things. Even Heather. I've been called a lot of names, and it hurts."

Jacqueline- "For kissing that musician, I should be paid more! He's not even remotely my type! If he was, do you think that Goth girl would stand a chance?"

Heather- "I am so mad right now! Three months of planning down the drain! I rig the online voting to get my friend from fashion camp on the island and now we can't vote anyone off? Still, it would be worth splitting my prize money with her if Jacqui breaks up a couple or two along the way."

Ed- "How does this work? I just say whatever's on my mind? What did I get myself into here? This seems like a good bunch of kids. It's an honor to be here to represent Canada with them. And thank you, Kristen, for making us a team. We're going to win."

Owen- "I could have picked any 24 teens I wanted, but I wanted my friends. They're like family.

Gwen and Heather are heard screaming at each other outside.

Owen- "Yep, one big, happy Canadian family."

Darkness brought the curtain down. A chill north wind swept the island. After Owen finished, the guys and girls split up and went to their cabins. It had been a long, trying, draining day and everyone just wanted to sleep.

The last thing that was said between them was a simple question. Heather asked Owen, "Do you know what the first challenge is?"

"Yeah." Owen answered sleepily. "It's the Great American Pastime."


End file.
